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The Government has suggested that the Premier League will be played behind closed doors for "significant" time.

The UK's road map for exiting the lockdown imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus was published on Monday afternoon, setting out the conditions under which various activities can be safely carried out.

Indeed, one of the key takings was that top-level sport in England could restart behind closed doors from June 1 but spectators may not be able to attend venues until a vaccine is found.

Step two of the road map, which cannot begin any earlier than June 1, includes "permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact".

An empty Old Trafford, the home of Premier League giants Manchester United (Image: PA)

However page 21 of the document warns that opening of venues such as sports stadia "may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in numbers of infections".

Medical chiefs have previously detailed how a vaccine would normally take years, if not decades, to develop.

However researchers hope to achieve the same amount of work in only a few months and it remains a work in progress.

Events involving international travel - such as football's Champions League and Europa League, could be affected by the Government's planned introduction of an enforced 14-day quarantine period for arrivals to the UK, except for those from countries "on a short list of exemptions".